Katoomba, New South Wales, AustraliaToday was a day trip to Katoomba from Bathurst, via Portland and Lithgow.
Peter had picked out what we could see on the way and we travelled the Great Western Highway, turning on to a minor at road at Meadow Flat. The drive to Portland on this road was very scenic. The huge wattle trees were hanging over the road and full of blossom. The undulating countryside certainly encouraged a few clicks!
As we drove into Portland the entrance sign said PORTLAND NSW - "The Town that built Sydney". The town is an historic mining town and was the place of the first cement works in Australia, which was opened in 1902. Cement produced at the Portland Cement Works helped build the city of Sydney and the cement was shipped around Australia until the works closed in 1991. The images that have been painted onto the 'Old Silos' of the Cement Works Precinct are quite good. It just needed a better viewing area for a photo, but we managed one through an opening in the gate!
The other interest in the town are the 'Signs of Yesteryear'. In 2001 Ron Bidwell, a signwriter by trade, together with his fellow 'Letterheads', recreated vintage signs dating from 1895 to 1945 on local shop walls. Ron had a vision of revitalising the town by recreating 'Signs of Yesteryear', sprucing up the town and creating a tourist attraction for visitors. 'Letterheads' are a group of signwriting colleagues, who get together and form a group. Not sure how many tourists do take that trip off the highway, but we certainly enjoyed what we saw and we purchased our morning tea in the town.
Then it was on to Lithgow. Lithgow is nestled on the western slopes of the Blue Mountains and is surrounded by seven National Parks. Lithgow has a population of 14,000 and the town has a significant industrial heritage . Most people bypass it and opt for the more popular towns of Bathurst and Katoomba. But we did make time today to drive to Blast Furnace Park on Inch Street. Blast Furnace Park is a rare relic of Australia's first iron and steel industry. William Sandford started to smelt iron on the site in 1907 after he had built the country's first modern blast furnace. It is said that where he went wrong was that he used British plans, rather than American. From 1907 until 1915 it was the country's only iron production facility. By 1908 William Sandford was heavily in debt and was forced to sell the blast furnace and his coal mines. In 1913 and the buyers expanded the railway and added new furnaces, with the result that the Blast Furnace was producing 2,000 tonnes of pig iron a week and employing 120 workers. The Blast Furnace continued to produce iron ore until 1928 when, due to demand decreasing and costs increasing, it was decided to move the blast furnace to Port Kembla where it eventually became Australian Iron & Steel and was absorbed into BHP. The community became involved in cleaning up the 'Blast Furnace' site and the site is now being further developed with interpretive signage and fencing. Lake Pillan is a very nice area near the Blast Furnace.
The presence of steel was a factor in establishing a national Small Arms Factory in Lithgow, which was the first modern manufacturing plant in Australia. This factory is still operating and has equipped the Australian Army with weapons for over 90 years. Lithgow also once had woollen mills and the famous Berlei textile company.
Then it was off to Katoomba to visit 'The Three Sisters' once again. I had read something a long time ago about being able to ride something across to 'The Three Sisters'. Peter was thinking of his stomach again, when we took the tourist drive out the the 'Three Sisters', saying "We should have got some lunch at Katoomba'! But then he was the one behind the steering wheel! He was still thinking of his stomach when we got to Cahill Lookout and spent extra time watching a group who were rock climbing. I told him "I was sure there was a cafe at The Three Sisters"! Hoping that I was right, as it was 1.30pm by the time we headed that way!
We had no idea we were going to see the tourist attraction 'Scenic World' and what it has become. By the time we had ridden the 'Cableway, Railway and Skyway', we had all decided it was definitely a 'Spot the Aussie' tourist attraction. There were so many Asians there. There was a huge bus and coach parking area and a multi-story car park. Trouble was the clearance was only 2.1 metres in the car park, and although we got in there, it was too stressful thinking that anytime the roof rack was going to go 'crunch'! We backed out from the tight corner to the second level and found somewhere to park across the road.
My research makes me realise how naive we are about Katoomba! We came here back in about 2000. Will have to think more about the year. I can remember that we caught the train from Sydney or bus to Penrith, because they were working on the track. Bumping huge suitcases up over the walkover to the railway station was memorable! We stayed at Leura and hired a car. We did ride the Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow (which you can't do now due to a fire in 2013) and went to the Jenolan Caves, but we didn't do the tourist attraction at Katoomba. Just took a snap of 'The Three Sisters'. Surely we must have just gone to Echo Point, to have not seen all that there is to see at Scenic World! Dorothy felt sure they had ridden some sort of coloured train many years ago. Her memory would have been right!
This is the history of Scenic World at Katoomba. The 'Scenic Railway' is an incline railway that was used for tourism. It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880's. The steepest section of the track is an incline of 52 degrees and the length of the track is 310 metres. From 1928 to 1945 it carried coal during the week and passengers at weekends. The coal mine was closed in 1945 after which it remained as a tourist attraction. In January 2013 the 'Scenic Railway' was temporarily closed for an upgrade to both tracks and carriages. It reopened in April of that year and claims to be the steepest passenger railway incline lift the world.
Built in 1958 the 'Scenic Skyway'' is another cable-driven conveyance at Scenic World. It travels across the gorge, above the Katoomba Falls, 270 metres above the valley floor. The original 'Scenic Skyway' was withdrawn on 4 April 2004 after 587,401 crossings and now sits in the picnic area at Scenic World. It was replaced by a new cabin in December of the same year. The new Skyway was a 72-person cabin with sections of liquid crystal glass that turns a raised section of the floor transparent as the ride progresses. In November 2005 a second station on the opposite cliff-face opened, allowing Skyway passengers to disembark and follow trails to the nearby Echo Point. In November 2017 the latest 'Scenic Skyway' cabin was launched. The Skyway cabin is now 30% bigger, offering visitors a more spacious ride with easier boarding as well as free wifi.
In 2000 Scenic World installed the Sceniscender, now called 'Scenic Cableway'.It is an 84-passenger cable car that passes over a 25-metre-high tower on the edge of the cliff, and then 510 metres to the Botton Station in the Jamison Valley 200 metres below. It was quite exciting to ride. Our ticket cost was $35.00 which entitled us to ride all three attractions at Scenic World all day. There was a Family Annual pass which we thought was very reasonable. We were glad we decided 'To Do It', it completed a very enjoyable and interesting day. Pete got us safely back to Bathurst by 5.00pm and of course we watched the first of the AFL Preliminary Finals. And that bloke we talked with at Parkes, that was so sure Richmond would be in the Grand Final, was proved wrong! Go Eagles for tomorrow night!
Jenny
2018-09-24
2018-09-24 Well, as we know the Eagles are in the grand final. That Victorian will have to eat his words. If you passed a postie on your travels around Katoomba, it might have been Peter. Sounds like things have changed a lot at the scenic railway. These days we avoid will those areas due to spot the Aussie. My best view of the mountains was on the back of Peter's Harley, even if I did hang on like grim death! Enjoy the GF!
Julie
2018-09-24
We spent a day in the Blue Mountains and Katoomba earlier this year. Drove the scenic trail starting with Wentworth Falls the Three Sisters and Cahills Lookout. So very scenic, but it would have been good to experience the Scenic World triple cable car, rail and train as you have just done. The Eagles played a top game Saturday to win so easily over Melbourne. These Victorians think they can win over the Eagles but we have proved them wrong time and time again! A great game, loved the atmosphere. We missed out on the ballot to get to the GF unfortunately, so we will be thinking of you, enjoy!!
pamandpete
2018-09-25
The Eagles did play a great game Julie. Fiona also said the atmosphere was fantastic. Looking forward to Saturday. Disappointing your luck wasn't in on the ballot Jules, but you will be willing them on from Drummonds. Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately didn't see 'Postie Peter' Jenny, but would have loved to have seen you hanging on, on that Harley! We will enjoy the Grand Final whatever the result. Well we hope it is a good game and even better if the Eagles win. Go Eagles!